Day: May 20, 2013

ICE – In Case of Emergency – programming of your cell phones with ICE is a concept that was developed by a paramedic in England. It was realized that most of his victims did not carry emergency contact information but did carry cell phones. So the campaign started was to get people who carry cell phones to put in a listing of ICE in their cell phone directory with a number that should be called In Case of an Emergency.

There are over 300 million cell phone users in the United States today. Industry experts expect over 350 million users by end of 2013. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2012 that 1,800,000 emergency room patients could not provide contact information because they were incapacitated. So many individuals, including teenagers, leave the home each day without any identification or emergency contact information, yet carry a cell phone. Ice your phone could be very valuable to a lot of people in times of an emergency.

It is simple to do. First type the acronym ICE in your contact directory of your PLATEAU cell phone then the phone number of the person to be contacted in an emergency.

It has also been suggested that you add a period at the beginning of the acronym. This puts the listing first on the directory list. Thus .ice this also makes it quick for you to call this number since on most cell phones – after you push the Phonebook button the first entry is highlighted and ready for you to push the send button to make the call.

Some individuals like to add the name of the person after the ICE acronym. Thus, if someone wanted Bob to be called in an emergency, the contact listing might look like: ice-bob

A number of public safety agencies here in the United States are training their first responders to look for the ICE acronym in the cell phones of those that are not able to tell the first responder who to call In Case of an Emergency.

It has been proven that the ability to get vital health and medical information about a victim can be very important in how paramedics may treat someone who is unconscious.

The use of ICE for children can be very important because most do not carry wallets that would provide other important contact information. An ICE-mom or ICE-dad could be very important in providing this emergency contact.

Additionally, include ICE Poison Control phone numbers into your Plateau cell phone in case a family member, friend, pet or someone ingests some form of Poison. The Poison control phone number is 1-800-222-1222 or for your pet it is 1-888-426-4435.

ICE Advice
* ICE is not a substitute to keeping written emergency information in a wallet or purse. Emergency response teams first look to identify you before trying to contact next of kin.

* Cell phones are personal items that must remain with the victim. Written information can be photocopied. Keep ICE information limited – as this is accessible to anyone finding your cell phone.

* The person whose name and number you are giving has agreed to be your ICE contact.

* Your ICE contact(s) should have a list of people they should contact on your behalf, including your place of work.

* Your ICE contact should know about any medical conditions that could affect your emergency treatment – for example allergies or current medications

* If you are under 18, your ICE contact is either your mother or father or an immediate member of your family authorized to make decisions on your behalf